×

Official decries volunteer shortages

One of Pennsylvania Fire Commissioner Timothy Solobay’s fears is getting a call one day that someone called 911 to report a fire and “no one answered the call.”

Sure, someone answered the 911 call, but there were no volunteer firefighters available to handle the emergency.

“People join the fire company because they want to help their community, perhaps they want to be part of a brotherhood-sisterhood that is out there because fire company members are very close. It’s very much like a second family,” Solobay, a volunteer firefighter for 40 years, said.

“However, when you’re stuck spending a majority of your time fundraising to do the job you volunteer to do, it gets very disheartening,” Solobay said.

“Back in the mid-1970s, when I first got involved, the number of volunteer firefighters in the state was estimated at 300,000. Today, we’re down to 50,000,” Solobay, a volunteer firefighters and the first assistant fire chief for the Canonsburg Fire Co. in Washington County, said.

While the number of volunteers have dropped considerably, the number of career firefighters in the state has increased in 30 years from about 5,000 to more that 10,000, most of them serving “in major cities and third-class cities,” he said.

Solobay was the guest speaker Saturday night at the Old Lycoming Township Volunteer Fire Co.’s appreciation banquet, held at the firehouse on Dewey Avenue. It was the first time in the fire department’s history that a state fire commissioner spoke at their annual dinner. He talked briefly with the Sun-Gazette prior to addressing the attendees.

“The increase in career firefighters is due, in part, to communities that have had to hire full-time career firefighters because there were no volunteers around,” he said.

Solobay, who was appointed commissioner by Gov. Tom Wolf in January 2015, said many communities are served by fire companies that have “a combination” of volunteer and career members.

“The number one issue today for the fire service is funding, and it makes no difference if its a volunteer or career department,” Solobay said.

“It’s a very critical problem,” he said.

“Forty years ago, a new engine cost about $75,000. Now that same engine is going to cost you 10 times that amount, $750,000. Firefighting gear is much more high-tech, and with the high-tech comes expense,” Solobay said.

Protective gear alone, including a self-contained breathing apparatus, can run as high as $10,000 per firefighter, “when you’re talking about helmet, bunker pants, boots, gloves, air pack,” he said.

It is essential that fire companies get the financial support they need from their local governments, Solobay, who served in the state legislature for 12 years, said.

“The message I try to relay to local governments when I have an opportunity to meet with them is this: do you want the expense of adding 2, 3, maybe $4 million a year to your local budget because a number of your volunteers have left and you now have to fund a career department,” he said.

Fundraising drives people away from the fire service, Solobay said. “They simply don’t want to spend all their time raising money,” he said.

“Firefighters are risking their lives on calls. They’re taking the time to train and educate themselves to be a community servant,” Solobay said.

Volunteers hope that local elected officials would have “enough respect” to provide their fire company with adequate funding so that members can devote more time to firefighting and training and less time worrying about holding fundraising events, he said.

“We don’t make our police departments or EMS serves have fundraisers. Why do we force the volunteer fire service to do it,” Solobay said.

Retaining volunteer firefighters is a problem not just in the state, “but nationwide as well,” and it’s not a problem unique to the fire service, he said.

“Look at your organizations, be it churches, fraternal clubs or other service organizations; they are having the same problem because our lives today are so much busier and kids have so many more opportunities to do different things,” he added.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today